Confidentiality
by Lexicer
Summary: Seven people's relationships through several different pairs of eyes. The study of a blemished and make-shift family. SPOILERS! You have been warned... You can thank Riaeth for that warning!


_So, here is a little fic to hold you off until the next chapter of TBoS comes. I'm having some serious writer's block. D: I know. It freaking SUCKS. I had loads of fun writing this though! I think there will be a Ch. 2, but I don't think it will be released until FF XIII is released in the U.S. 'cause it's gonna contain some MAJOR spoilers. But, we'll see. That is subject to change. :P Well, I hope you enjoy this little story as much as I do! XD_

I don't own any of the characters/settings/etc. They all go to SQUARE ENIX...obviously. I'm pretty sure people _know_ that I didn't make FFXIII, otherwise there would DEFINITELY have been Snow/Lightning. XD

**Confidentiality**

Seven strangers thrust into the same fate. A few malicious relationships here and there, but otherwise no contact with each other in the past. Man slaughters, grudges, and secrets plagued their blemished, make-shift family.

But, friendships and love slowly arose from the ashes of the previously bitter relationships, dusting the crevices of their disconsolate hearts.

You can't truly love another until you love yourself. But sometimes, you just need a little help.

Serah and Lightning

She supported me financially, feeding and clothing me, even sending me to college while she didn't even graduate from high school. But all I really wanted was her love. Of course she loved me; I was her sister. And I loved her back. But she didn't understand my needs; I didn't want fashionable clothes or a beautiful house. I wanted her to be my sister. Not my mother.

I wouldn't have minded not going to college or begging for money if Lightning was there. But for the longest time, Lightning believed that love equaled financial support and material desires.

It wasn't until after my crystallization that she realized that this wasn't true. Love is love, and nothing else mattered to me.

When I couldn't find the blatant love I so desired, I searched elsewhere, coming home solely at dinner and bed-time. I found Snow. I hated leaving her, but Snow was addictive, his attention unlike anything I'd experienced since my mother's death.

Lightning tried so hard, killing herself from the inside out, when all I wanted was something that was once so easy to give.

Why was I so selfish?

Lightning and Snow

He couldn't protect her. No, that's not true. I couldn't protect her. Dumping the blame on him helped ease the darkness churning inside me.

She had spoken of a man she "loved" but I blew her off. Serah had been "in love" many times; school-day crushes that ended when boredom sunk in. I assumed this man would be nothing important. Just another Prince Charming that had caught my sister's eye.

The day I met him, he loped up to me while I was on duty, holding his hand out for me to shake, and announced that he was Serah's boyfriend. I didn't like him; his hair was too long, his clothes too dirty, his smile too wide. I glared at him and walked away, leaving him and his lingering hand behind.

They announced their engagement on my twenty-first birthday.

Jealousy and disgust slunk through my veins. He attempted to ease my hard exterior with speeches about protection and devotion. But, his meaningless words meant nothing to me.

If I didn't have Serah, then what did I have? No. She wasn't going to marry this man. If I was going to lose Serah to someone, it certainly wouldn't be to him.

It turned out that I wouldn't lose her to him after all. We would both lose her to a force much more terminal then our fervid feud.

And in the end, it turned out that I was right; his words truly were meaningless. He couldn't protect her. At least we had that much in common. We couldn't protect the one thing we loved more than anything.

Why was I so weak?

Snow and Serah

I'd been with plenty of women, levity the core of my nature. But, Serah walked into my life, immediately extinguishing my frivolous libido. My eyes locked onto hers and I saw nothing else; she became my world.

I always announced how I was the "hero," but my only reason for wanting to be a hero was for pride. She gave me a real reason. I wanted to wrap her in my arms, protect her from all the negative forces in the world.

Unfortunately, I was not the only one who wanted to protect Serah.

The resemblance between the two sisters was striking, throwing me off guard when I first saw Lightning, but their personalities complete opposites of each other.

Lightning hated me, immediately accusing my speeches lies. She said that I could preach about my strength and bravery all I wanted, but my declarations meant nothing to her if I had nothing to support them with.

Lightning was right; I had done nothing to earn my self-subscribed status.

But, I told I would prove to her that I was worthy. That I would do anything to earn her trust.

She simply shook her head and spat, "You can try," before walking away, leaving me more determined then ever.

I had been with plenty of women, yes, but I had never _needed_ someone's constant company before. While Serah was all I wanted and needed, it became my goal to prove Lightning wrong.

Why was I so stupid?

Vanille and Hope

Buildings crumbled around me as I ran forward. I only stopped when I heard a scream. Hope saw his mother fall with the broken debris to her death. I watched in horror.

At first, he just stood there, watching the space where his mother disappeared into darkness. It wasn't until PSICOM blew another bridge did I pull him along.

"We have to go!" I cried, tugging at his sleeve. The buildings kept falling. I slapped him, hard, across the cheek. "Come on!"

Quickly shaking out of his daze, he nodded and ran behind me.

Hope had never had a sister before. That is what I became. Those first couple days before he decided to follow Lightning, he clung to me like a baby chimp everywhere I went. He was so confused, though.

Sometimes he would hold onto my skirt, and refuse to let go, while other times, he would push me away in a hormonal fit.

I suppose it's good that he chose to go with Lightning to Palumpolum. She was the only one who wouldn't take his hysterics. She could discipline him.

I think that was all he really wanted. Someone to discipline him, yet show him gentle affection. A mother.

Why was I so inferior?

Sazh and Lightning

We had worked together, but never really spoken to each other. Nothing but simple indifferent acquaintances.

The first time I spoke to Lightning was at Bowdam while in line to board the the train to Pulse. Surrounded by weeping couples and confused children clinging to their families, I saw her stroll up to the officer at the top of the line and ask to be allowed on the train. The officer was incredulous, to say the least.

After all, most people shivered in fear at the thought of Pulse. Most people would do anything to stay on Cocoon. Most people weren't Lightning.

"You actually want on the train?" the officer asked, disbelief coating his voice. "You can't be serious."

She unsheathed her gunblade and chucked it at his feet. "How's that for serious?"

The officer stared at her before shaking his head and pointing to the end of the line. He bent down to retrieve the weapon before handing it off to another soldier as she strolled behind me, arms crossed, and waited like the rest of us.

I tried to make conversation. Even though I too had volunteered to board the train, I was still unsure and paranoid. I needed something to distract me.

Sparking a friendly conversation with Lightning was rather difficult. It's not that she was a mean person; she was simply focused, never letting her guard down.

Due to this aspect of her personality, she gave me cold one word answers that didn't offer much comfort. For some reason though, I wanted to stay by her side; I was drawn to her. If anyone could help me, it was her.

"Why do you want on the train?" I asked.

"I'm looking for someone," she deadpanned, staring straight ahead at the ever-approaching train doors.

Smirking, I replied, "Me too. My son."

She nodded and muttered, "My sister."

"Maybe we can help each other?" I suggested, trying to hide my hopefulness.

She asked with a skeptical brow, "What makes you think that you can help me?"

I shrugged. It was then that I decided that I would stay by her side. We could help each other. She could help me find Dajh, and I could help her find her sister. Two is better than one, right?

Why was I so dependent?

Hope and Snow

Every time I accidentally laid eyes on him, my stomach churned. He made me sick. His stupid smirk, his dirty clothes, his giant body. All of it only made my hatred grow.

Snow was no hero.

My mother died because of him. He killed her. HE killed her. HE KILLED HER.

It was all his fault.

I loved my mother more than anything else in the world. Living in Pulse would have been somewhat okay as long as she was there with me.

Why did it have to be her?

The kindest woman in the world. She never got angry, only sad. Even then, she would always cast a happy grin in my direction, brightening up my day a little more and causing a grin to erupt on my own face.

If only I was stronger, older, braver. I could have saved her. She would still be here. I wish I was better than him.

Why am I so young?

Sazh and Vanille

I went to find my son. Lightning went to find the Pulse fal'Cie. Her sister was already a crystal. Dajh still had time. I had to find him before his Focus caught up with him.

Vanille joined me on my trip, and Hope followed Lightning. Neither of us were particularly happy about having the company our young companions at first; we were adults that had more important issues to deal with than two lost teenagers. But, Vanille began to grow on me. I think she had that effect on everyone.

Who could hate such a cheerful girl?

Yes, she could be stupid at times, but she was also immensely clever. While her senses dulled when she daydreamed, they became sharp as a pin when fiends attacked; the girl could fight.

She sometimes cried for reasons I couldn't understand. As happy as the girl pretended to be, I knew something dark churned beneath her skin. A secret that she refused to tell me.

Why was I so blind?

Lightning and Fang

Fang irritated me. Simple as that. She was loud, obnoxious, and pompous.

While she may have been strong and beautiful, the negative aspects of her personality clouded the good. The woman could talk for hours about herself, one conversation leading to the next. Of course, they were mostly one-sided. I did hardly any speaking, choosing instead to silently fume and wish I was elsewhere.

As much as I hated to admit it, we did make a good team, our attacks fluid and strong like liquid steel.

Nonetheless, as soon as the woman opened her mouth, all respect and likeness flew away with the wind.

Why was I so judgmental?

Vanille and Serah

I knew Serah before Lightning. She tripped into me, flustered and paranoid, at Bowdam. Strangely enough, I was the first to know she was a l'Cie.

Since I was one myself, she clung to me, friends by circumstances.

She questioned me for answers, to most of which I could not give.

"What's my Focus?"

"I don't know."

"How long do I have?"

"I don't know."

"What should I do?"

Silent for a few moments, I sadly answered, "I don't know."

She cried for a few minutes, and I led her to a beach where we could be alone. Beaches always put me in a better mood so I hoped it would work for her as well.

Wiping away her tears, she sat down in the sand beside me. It was my fault she was a l'Cie. The Cocoon fal'Cie was searching for me. I apologized after I heard her speak of Lightning and Snow, her sister and fiancee. She had so much to look forward to, but whether she completed her Focus or not, it was all going to be ripped away from her.

Serah simply shook her head, denying this fact. "I'll figure something out," she assured me, patting my head affectionately.

I liked Serah. She was kind and bubbly. I bet we would have been great friends.

Why was I so faulty?

Lightning and Hope

A nuisance to the extreme, the boy followed me everywhere, searching for a new role to fill.

Once a sturdy, adolescent young man, he became a lost and terrified toddler after her death. No longer his mother's son, he needed a strong foundation to stand on if he was to remain sane. So he took to me, attempting to mimic my leadership, but usually falling behind in a storm of terrified screams and cries.

His weakness irritated me, and I didn't hide it particularly well, snapping at him for circumstances well beyond his control. With every clumsy stumble, every frightened yelp, my impatience expanded to the point where I found myself closing my eyes, forcing myself not to scream. Sometimes, my attempts failed.

Hope was pathetic and alone, clinging to the first strong maternal figure he laid eyes on in his frantic search for stability. I didn't have time to take care of Serah, so I assumed I didn't have time to take care of him.

Why was I so insensitive?

Fang and Vanille

I promised to protect her. So that's what I did. Or tried to, at least.

There are some things that you just can't help, no matter how hard you try.

We got separated for a time. She went to Bowdam while I joined Cid and his forces, both of us searching for the other l'Cies. The supposed 'chosen' ones meant to either save or destroy Cocoon. We didn't know which.

I worried about her constantly while she was away, but I knew I would find her again.

All we had left was each other. I'd be damned to see her taken away from me.

Why was I so slow?

**END**

_End of Ch. 1! I enjoyed this, and I hope you did too. Please review! Constructive criticism is love! XD Love you guys!_

_Lexicer.  
_


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